Ten years ago: Countering blunt talk of war by the Bush administration, France and Germany defiantly stated they were committed to a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis. Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Bill Mauldin, who had immortalized World War II soldiers with his characters Willie and Joe, died in Newport Beach, Calif., at age 81.

Five years ago: Actor Heath Ledger, 28, was found dead of an accidental prescription overdose in a New York City apartment. Jose Padilla, once accused of plotting with al-Qaida to blow up a radioactive “dirty bomb,” was sentenced by a U.S. federal judge in Miami to 17 years and four months on other terrorism conspiracy charges.

One year ago: Longtime Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who’d won more games than anyone in major college football but was fired amid a child sex abuse scandal that scarred his reputation, died at age 85.